The Sister
by HoneyBee HoneySuckle
Summary: Wander is the friendliest face in outer space. The rest of his species? Not so much. (prompt fill, cross posting from tumblr)
1. Reunions

**A/N: Trigger warning: murder, elements of emotional abuse.**

Hater had decided that he did not enjoy handcuffs. Not. One. Bit.

Of course, the handcuffs weren't the most humiliating thing about the situation. Nor was the fact that they'd gotten their butts handed to them by a bunch of girls, although Hater really didn't care that they were girls; after all, his mother had conquered half the galaxy in her younger years, and even now she still ruled a sizable portion of it.

No, the most humiliating part of all of this was that it had only taken forty minutes for a crew of five to take out an army of three hundred.

He really should reconsider that training regimen he set up, because obviously _something _wasn't working here.

The doors to the Captain's quarters opened, revealing a large desk with a chair facing the giant window.

"Ma'am!"

The chair didn't move. "Leave the big one. Do whatever you like with the eyeball."

"Wh-What?!" Peepers cried as the largest of the women grinned, picking him up and tossing him over her shoulder. "S-Sir! Sir, help me!"

Hater gave him a sympathetic look as they shut the door, then turned back to the chair.

"Thatcher Visigoth."

Hater's eyes widened in shock. "Wh- How did you-?!"

"Please, your mom conquered half a galaxy, you really think I can't find you on the 'net?" She swiveled around in the chair, and Hater gasped.

The snow-white Star Nomad grinned at him, her blue eyes cold. "I have a proposition for you, Lord Hater." She flicked her finger in a 'come hither' motion, and Hater yelped as he was dragged forward by the handcuffs.

"M-Magic?!" He exclaimed after he slammed into the desk.

"It pays to have a wizard on your side. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Corsair. I'm sure you've met my brother."

Hater gave her a blank stare.

"Hm? Oh, perhaps you need a description. Orange fur, blue eyes, green hat, plays a banjo," she cleared her throat. "Talks with an accent like this one?" She added in a familiar country accent.

The overlord's eyes widened. "W… Wander?!"

"Ah, so you have met him! Mind you, I knew that you had, that little incident with the trophy got put online, but it's more fun to watch you figure it out."

Hater did his best to look indignant. "What… What do you want from me?"

"Weren't you listening, dearie? I have a proposal for you. You see, I haven't seen my brother in a very long time, and I miss him dearly. He seems to think that I want to kill him." She sighed. "Nothing could be farther from the truth, of course, but I can't convince him of that." She smiled, and suddenly Hater wished that he could fade away into oblivion. "So, I need you to get him here. I'll keep him locked up, and he'll be out of your hair forever." She gestured to the top of his head. "Metaphorically speaking of course."

"Wait, that's it? You just want me to capture Wander? And then he's out of my life?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, stupid. I've tried catching that idiot; it's impossible. I want you to help me lure him away from Sylvia and _then _catch him."

"And how do you expect me to do that?"

She grinned at him. "Well…"

* * *

"… And then he ran into my knife. He ran into my knife _ten times_."

Peepers swallowed nervously, forcing down a whimper. He attempted to scoot away, but found himself backing up into another crew member, yelping as they toppled over.

"I'm so s-sorry, m-miss!" Peepers exclaimed nervously, quickly helping her up. "I didn't see… you… there…"

The eyeball trailed off, staring at the tiny, doe-like alien, her green eyes wide and her face flushed an odd shade of purple.

"N-Najare! Metek al biyo tane ge!" She replied quickly, waving her hands out in front of her. "Tero… tero nimakeyak artul." She added, looking away bashfully.

Peepers blinked. "Uh…"

Behind them, the ladies snickered. "Aw!"

"Sweet enough to rot yer teeth, aren't they?"

The girl blushed even more. "K-Kitut grat marety ik! Ferur tero nonkek!"

"Okay, okay, geez! Sorry, Ty Nota."

Ty Nota scoffed. "Tero akinte mergi mek, Alanah."

The other woman blinked, then flushed. "Wha…" She screwed up her face, glaring menacingly. "Why you little-!"

Ty Nota screamed, diving behind Peepers as Alanah came at them, the knife lady barely holding her back.

"Settle down! Remember what the Captain said last time!"

"She's asking for an ass-whoopin'!"

"Could someone _please_ explain what's going on?!"

"Attent-SHUN!"

Suddenly, all of the women halted, turning and facing the entrance. "Ma'am!"

Peepers sighed in relief when he saw Hater come inside, followed quickly by shock when he saw the white Star Nomad beside him.

"Oh my glorn…" He whispered, shaking in terror.

The woman smiled. "Ah, good. So at least one of you morons knows who I am."

"Hey! I know who you are!" Hater paused. "But… tell me anyway."

Peepers rolled his eyes. "Sir, that's Corsair the Ruthless!"

Hater looked at him blankly.

"She took over thirty solar systems in two weeks! And that's just the beginning! She's known as the most successful conqueror since… since your mother was young!"

"You flatter me, eyeball."

"Really? Her? But she's…" He pointed at her. "She's whatever Wander is!"

Alanah scoffed. "Dumbass. Star Nomads may be adorable, but they're all wicked to the core."

Hater stared at her. "What? But… Wander… Wander has to be the least wicked person I've ever met!"

"Yes, well, Wander… he's different. In fact, I'm fairly sure he and his twin sister aren't full-blood Star Nomads. Our birth parents weren't exactly happily married."

"Twin… sister?" The overlord's expression became horrified. "There's more than one of him?"

"Oh, no, darling. I assure you, Meander is quite dead." Corsair clapped her hands. "Right, then. Lord Hater has agreed to help us capture my darling little brother. Now, we've tracked him to a pit stop near the Nomadic Confederation's Supreme Court. We don't have much time."

* * *

Wander was bored.

Like, _really _bored. Reorganize your sock drawer bored.

Sylvia had gone to ask for directions, and had told him to stay put, but he was so bored.

He was also rather nervous. If all went according to plan, he'd be in court in less than an hour, recanting that testimony he made oh so long ago.

Wander knew, even then, when he was only four years old, that he should have told the truth, but how could he?

His big sister had done what she did to save them. Who was he to send her down the river?

But… things were different now.

He had to tell the truth. He owed Meander at least that much.

"Help! Help me!"

Wander swerved his head in the direction of the cry, glancing back briefly before standing up.

He'd only be a minute; Sylvia would never know he was gone.

The orange fellow started to run in the direction of the voice. "Hey! Where are you, I can help!"

"Over here! Please, hurry!" The voice called from a nearby alleyway. Wander turned into it, freezing when he saw that it was empty.

"What in tarnation…?" He scratched his head, looking around. "Where did they go?"

"Gotcha!"

Wander yelped as he was grabbed, handcuffs slapped on his wrists within seconds. "H-Hater?! What in the-?!"

The overlord shot a small green bolt of lightning at him, knocking him out.

"Huh. That was a lot easier than I thought it would be." He marvelled, pulling out the communicator that Corsair had given him.

"That was fast." Alanah commented when she picked up.

"I know, right?" He slung the nomad over his shoulder. "Pick us up."

In a flash, the overlord was beamed onto the ship, nomad still in tow.

"Follow me." Corsair said simply when she saw him, turning on her heel and leading him down a corridor.

"I still don't get what you needed me for. Your crewmen could've knocked him out prettily easily."

"I know. I didn't need you for that." She threw the doors open. "I need you for _this_."

Hater's jaw dropped.

The room was nearly filled by a giant cage with a door in the center. Within the cage was a brownstone mansion with a white door and a fountain in the front.

"What… What is it?"

"My brother's new home. I can't let him leave, but I can let him be comfortable. Put him on the ground there."

Hater did as she told him, placing Wander on the front lawn and backing out of the cage, closing the door as he exited.

"Now then," Corsair began, approaching a steel pole next to the prison. "This what I need you to do. You are aware that your mother is the most powerful magical being in the galaxy, correct?"

Hater scoffed, folding his arms indignantly. "Of course I do! What do you take me for, an idiot?"

"No comment. But in any case, you are your mother's son," She said, grabbing Hater's arm and dragging him over to the pole. "So it stands to reason that you've inherited some rather impressive magical powers. I need you to use them for me."

"I thought you said you had a wizard at your command?"

"I do, but there's only so much I can expect out of Ty Nota." She gestured at the rod. "If you'll just grab on to this and give it a good shock, then we'll be done here."

Hesitantly, the skeleton grabbed the steel pole, clenching it as he let his power flow down his arm and into the metal. In an instant, the entire cage lit up, glowing the same shade of bright green as Hater's magic.

"Perfect." Corsair said, grinning as she walked over to Wander, crouching down on her side of the cage. "Wander… wake up, Wander…"

The orange Star Nomad stirred, lifting himself up on his hands and knees. "Mornin' Sylvia… I had the weirdest dream… Hater captured me in an alley, and then I saw Cor… Cor…"

Wander's speech halted, his blue eyes wide and fearful as he stared at his sister. "No…" He whispered.

"Hello, dear little brother. Did you sleep well?"

The nomad moved to a sitting position, crawling away. "N… No. No, no, nononono! I… leave me alone! Let me go!"

"Oh, relax, Wander. You won't be joining our sister in the afterlife."

"Go away! Go away!" He begged, his eyes filling with tears.

"Now, now. Is that anyway to treat your sister?"

"You're _not_ my sister! Not anymore!" Wander screamed, his voice filled with rage and terror.

Corsair looked shocked. "Wander! I'm hurt! How could you say something like that?!"

"How could _you _murder our sister?!"

"I've told you, Wander, I didn't kill Meander!"

"I watched you kill her!" He sobbed. "I watched you kill her, and now you're gonna kill me because I told the truth!"

Corsair rolled her eyes. "There's just no convincing this guy, is there?" She deadpanned to Hater. "I didn't kill her, Wander. And even if I had, there wasn't enough evidence to convict me, anyway." She sighed. "And I won't kill you, even though you so coldly betrayed me. You've always had that strange weakness, that good heart of yours. Oh, love, it's no fault of your own. It's not your fault that our dear Mother was a cheating _harlot_." She smiled at her brother sadly. "It's not your fault that you're a half-breed."

Wander turned to Hater, his eyes wild and desperate. "Hater, Hater, please,help me!"

Hater opened his mouth, too shocked to reply right away. "I…"

"Oh, Wander," Corsair started, shaking her head sadly. "When will you learn? The only person you can count on is _you_. And in any case, he _hates_you."

Wander whimpered, drawing his legs up to his face.

"But that's not surprising, is it? Look at you! You're so cheerful it's obnoxious, you wear that ratty old hat all the time, and let's not even get started on your naivety."

Hater swallowed a lump in his throat. He felt like he should say something.

No one, not even Wander deserved to be talked to like that.

The woman stood up. "But enough of that." She waved as she exited. "Say your goodbyes, Hater. You won't be seeing each other again."

She left, and they were alone.


	2. I Can't Believe My Heart

**A/N: Continued trigger warnings!**

Hater stared awkwardly as Wander sobbed uncontrollably, shaking as he wailed like a child who had fallen off the swing and scraped up their knee.

He should be happy. Here was the person he hated more than anything in the universe, the very bane of his existence, in a cage, terrified beyond measure and sobbing his eyes out, never to be released from his prison.

Exactly like Hater had always wanted.

So why did he feel so… so _sad_?

Was it because of what Corsair had said to Wander?

Was it because her words had brought back those painful memories he'd thought he'd forgotten long ago?

_Freak!_

_Go away, skull-boy!_

_Mommy! There's a monster!_

_How ugly!_

_What in glorn's name _is_ that thing?!_

_If _my_ child looked like that, I'd _never_ let them out of the house!_

Hater clenched his jaw, forcing the painful, horrible memories into the back of his mind. Slowly, he took a step forward.

"Wander…"

"Leave."

Hater's eyes widened. "Wh… What?"

"I said leave. You w-want to go, right? Then… then just leave me here."

Hater hesitated. "I… I'm never going to see you again, so… so before I go, I want you to tell me what you were doing near that court."

The orange fellow didn't speak for a minute. "Our… our birth parents weren't good people. They hated us, and each other. One night…" Wander got a far away look in his eyes. "Th-They were fighting, and Mama got one of the knives from the kitchen to defend herself. Daddy didn't like that, so he took it from her and he… he…" Fresh tears rolled down his face. "We- That is, me, Corsair, and Meander- were in the kitchen when he did it, and he turned the knife on me and Meander, sayin' that Mama cheated on him to make us, but… before he could hurt us, Corsair grabbed another knife and she…" He started to sob, burying his face into his knees.

"… How… how old were you when that happened?"

"… Four. I… I was scared, so when the police came to question us about it, I… I lied. I said that I had been in bed and hadn't seen anything. Corsair had gotten rid of all the evidence that could convict her, and Meander… she just stopped talking all together." He swallowed hard. "The… the statute of limitations for murder in the Nomadic Confederation is twenty years. That's in two days. I… I was going to change my testimony… I had to try."

"Your father was going to kill you! Why would you-?!"

"It wasn't for him! It was for Meander!" He shouted suddenly. Hater had never seen him look so enraged.

Hater recoiled. "Wh… What?"

Wander turned away. "… Corsair's always been kinda… abrasive. She's always yelled at me, called me names…" He drew into himself. "About ten years ago, I did something to set her off. I can't remember what it was, but it really got her mad. She… She slapped me, and she told me…" He took a deep breath. "'You are a _useless, filthy, nasty little freak of nature_! You're a _mistake_! Mom never should have had you, you stupid _half-breed_! You never should have been born! Everything would be better if you never existed!'" He shuddered, tears rolling down his face. "I tried to say that I was sorry, but she just kept yelling. Meander got in between us, and then…" He trailed off.

Hater didn't know what to say to that. How could he? Sure, he and his own sister had had their differences, but he'd never even consider saying anything like Corsair had said to Wander, much less do what Corsair had done to Meander.

He stood, turning away. "That's… that's all I wanted to know." He swallowed hard, trying to ignore the wave of sadness washing over him. "Goodbye, Wander." He said quietly as he started towards the door.

"She's right, isn't she?"

Hater froze.

"Corsair, I mean. You hate me, don't you?"

Hater didn't answer him, and silently walked away.

Wander was going to stay in that cage forever.

Wander was never going to bother him again.

Wander was out of his life.

He should have been happy.

He should have felt like bursting into song.

Instead, he just felt like crap.

* * *

"Tell me lies, and I'll come runnin'. I must've lost my mind… I could close my eyes, and tell you just exactly what's coming. Life's gonna turn just a little unkind…"

Hater smiled as he entered the bar. He'd never admit it out loud, of course, but he loved hearing his little sister sing.

Even back when she was technically his little _brother_.

He watched as she strolled around the stage, her bright red dress shining in the bright spotlight of the bar. Her curly hair was pulled into a loose bun, strands falling elegantly around her face. Her gray skin looked nearly white, and her bat-like ears were adorned with earrings.

His sister was definitely the more attractive sibling.

"Hey, sweet pea! How's about I buy you a drink, eh?"

Though that really didn't warrant the cat-calling.

Apparently, Tuesday agreed with him, as she shot off a quick beam towards the unruly patron. "Sun's always shinin', but it's never for me. Why should I try anymore? Tell me lies, tell me lies, I'll keep right on comin'. This time, I've got to believe in the dream." She turned to face the curtain, strutting slowly towards it. "This time I've got to believe in his dream…" As the song ended, she disappeared behind the curtain, much to the chagrin of the bar-goers.

Hater smiled and rolled his eyes, nodding at the owner as he slipped backstage.

"Rough night, kid?"

Tuesday gasped and turned towards him. "Thatcher!" She squealed excitedly, tackling her brother in a hug. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be conquering some planet somewhere?"

"Oh, I was just in the area, and… I just wanted to see you." He smiled at her, trying to mask the melancholy feeling. "I missed you, I guess."

Tuesday's eyes narrowed. "Are… are you okay? You seem kinda down. I mean, more than usual."

The overlord rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, Tuesday. I just… I found out that an… acquaintance of mine was having some… family troubles, and… well, it reminded me that I hadn't seen you in a while."

Tuesday didn't look at all convinced. "Thatcher…"

Hater sighed, leaning against the back of the stage. "… You remember that Wander guy I told you about, right?"

"The annoying fuzzy guy with the hat and the banjo who travels with that sassy Zbornak? Yeah, why?"

"Well, have you heard of Corsair the Conqueror?"

"Dude, everyone and their mother has heard of Corsair the Conqueror. She's probably on par with our mom when it comes to hostile takeovers."

"… Apparently, she's Wander's older sister."

Tuesday blinked in disbelief. "Bullshit." She said finally, her green eyes wide.

"Nope."

"You're telling me that Wander, the most obnoxiously cheerful guy in the galaxy, and Corsair the Conqueror, the woman who took over twenty planets in two days, are brother and sister?!"

"Well, technically they're half-siblings, but yeah. Anyway, I… I may have helped her capture him."

"Well, that's a good thing, right? He's out of your hair!"

Hater didn't respond.

"Right?"

"… I should be happy about that, but… ever since I left him on her ship, I've… I've had this awful feeling in my gut." He sighed. "Something about seeing him so scared, so helpless just… I don't know, I guess it brought back some bad memories or something."

"… Or something, indeed." Tuesday murmured.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing." She gestured to the curtain. "Listen, I gotta get back out there."

"O-Oh, um, right." He turned away. "I should get-"

"H-Hey! No, stay for the next number!" Tuesday insisted, grabbing her brother's arm.

Hater rolled his eyes again. "Fine."

She grinned, hopping back up the steps.

"Thatcher!"

He glanced back at his sister, who was staring at the curtain.

"There's only a few things in the galaxy that I love." She smiled at him. "And one of them is you."

With that, she walked back out onto the stage, leaving Hater staring at an empty spot.

He sighed, smiling at his little sister's corniness.

"She's too much like our dad for her own good."

* * *

"I've always thought that men were slime, and every guy I've met has proved me right, until tonight…" She started, watching as her brother took a seat at the bar.

"Give me a beer on tap, Chuck."

The bartender nodded, grabbing a mug.

"Just when I thought I had it figured, that life's a game you cannot win, he comes in and changes all the rules…"

A certain orange nomad flashed through Hater's mind, shocking the overlord so much that he nearly fell off of his bar stool. He smiled awkwardly at the bartender as he readjusted himself, chuckling nervously.

_What the hell?!_

"What I've been taught, I learned the hard way, that life and love are never just, and if you trust you're just one of the fools…"

Hater shook his head, trying to clear his mind.

"Here ya go, sir."

The overlord nodded, taking his beer from the bartender. "Thanks." He replied, sipping a bit.

"And now I can't believe my heart is saying don't resist him, that I've been on my guard too long…"

_Hater! Is that you?! It's me, Wander!_

The skeleton nearly choked on his drink, glancing around furtively.

"Shit…" He muttered after he managed to swallow. He put the drink back on the counter.

"I can't believe my heart surrendered when I kissed him, and told me all I thought I knew, how sad but true, is wrong… If life is worth the disappointment, I hadn't seen one reason yet, until I met the boy who smiles for free."

Wander's smile flashed before Hater's eyes, making him flush inexplicably.

_What in glorn's name is wrong with me?!_

"And now I can't believe my heart has overcome my senses, to help me see that he's the prize."

Why was this happening? It wasn't like he _cared_ about Wander-

Oh.

"I can't believe my heart says tear down all your fences."

Well, shit.

He _did_ care about that little weirdo. For whatever reason, that stupid little nomad had somehow wormed his way into Hater's metaphorical heart.

He cared about Wander.

And he had to go save him from that woman.

"That everything you want and more is right before your eyes."

Tuesday looked over to where her brother was sitting, smiling when she saw the empty chair.

"I can't believe my heart could be so wise…"


End file.
